The Empire Club of Canada
Hybrid
Thursday, June 5, 2025
Ontario is going big and bold. With an ambitious plan to build, the government is investing an historic $200-plus billion for new roads, transit, schools, hospitals, long-term care homes and housing-enabling infrastructure. At the same time, Ontario is making it easier and faster to build residential, commercial and industrial buildings across municipalities.
On June 5, 2025, join us at the Empire Club of Canada for a special event featuring Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, Kinga Surma, and Infrastructure Ontario President and CEO, Angela Clayton. Together, they will release the Market Update, highlighting details of upcoming infrastructure projects across the province. This event will be moderated by Kelly Jackson, Vice-President, Destination Development at Destination Toronto.
This is a must-attend event for leaders and partners in the construction industry who deliver these critical projects. Get your tickets now.
Kinga Surma is the Minister of Infrastructure for the Province of Ontario and the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Etobicoke Centre.
She is devoted to fighting for her residents and helping build a better Ontario by ensuring we have the quality infrastructure to grow the economy, protect local services, make commutes easier and create better communities.
Since her appointment to the Ministry of Infrastructure in June 2021, Minister Surma has spearheaded the province’s broadband initiatives, helping more people and businesses across rural, northern and Indigenous communities connect to reliable high-speed internet.
In June 2022, Minister Surma was entrusted with a larger mandate that included managing the province’s real estate portfolio, delivering infrastructure supports that help build more homes and better communities, as well as overseeing the rebuilding of Ontario Place.
On March 19th, 2025 she was reappointed, for a third time, to serve as Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure.
Minister Surma continues to work with all levels of government and key partners to help deliver better infrastructure and transit services. This includes the construction of the province’s major priority transit projects, including the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and the Ontario Line, as well as the Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) program that will help make life better by reducing gridlock and creating complete communities with more housing and jobs closer to transit stations.
She came to Canada from Poland at the age of 4. As a successful immigrant and Canadian citizen, she understands the challenges that newcomers face when beginning their life in Canada.
She holds a degree in Public Policy, Business and Commerce from the University of Guelph, as well as Public Relations Designations from Ryerson University, now known as TMU.
Angela Clayton was appointed interim President and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario in December 2024.
With over 25 years of experience in the infrastructure sector, Angela has extensive experience working in both the public and private sectors in the areas of strategic planning, risk management, and program management. In her current role, she is responsible for overseeing the strategy, planning, and implementation of over $100B in infrastructure projects across Ontario.
Angela is a Chartered Professional Accountant with a bachelor’s degree in commerce. She also holds several professional designations, including her ICD.D, PMP, FMA and RPA.
She is a passionate advocate for women in the infrastructure sector and actively seeks ways to make meaningful contributions to her community through her involvement in industry associations and volunteer efforts.
Kelly Jackson is the Vice-President of Destination Development at Destination Toronto. She leads a team that engages with a wide range of partners to ensure Toronto remains a world-class destination and the benefits of tourism are felt throughout the city. Kelly oversees Destination Toronto’s corporate communications strategy, community engagement, member and government relations. She is currently leading efforts to develop the city’s first-ever tourism master plan.
Prior to joining Destination Toronto, Kelly was Vice-President, External Affairs and Professional Learning at Humber Polytechnic, one of Canada’s largest institutions of higher education. Kelly led a portfolio of departments supporting: Humber’s external relationships; communications, marketing, and fundraising activities; continuous professional learning; and workforce development and community outreach. The division’s departments provided cross‐college services and delivered workforce training programs along with corporate training and professional learning programs to more than 40,000 individuals annually.
Kelly is a director on the board of the North York Harvest Food Bank and is a past president of the Empire Club of Canada. Kelly is also co-author of the children’s book, Our Canada: A Year With Canuck Kids that celebrates Canadian kids’ shared and diverse experiences.
